Shane Salerno is an American screenwriter, producer and award winning documentary filmmaker. He has written or co-written several box office blockbusters including Armageddon starring Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck and Billy Bob Thornton and Shaft starring Samuel L. Jackson, Christian Bale and Jeffrey Wright. Additionally, he has served as an uncredited contributing writer or script doctor on the box office hits Ghost Rider starring Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes, Alien vs. Predator and Breakdown starring Kurt Russell among other films.
From "Armageddon" to "Breakdown" from "Alien vs. Predator" to "Shaft" Shane Salerno has co-written or rewritten four #1 action films in the past seven years making him the "dependable go-to guy for event films" according to a July, 2004 cover story in Creative Screenwriting magazine. Just 32, a recent ShowbizData.com analysis listed the average domestic gross from one of Shane's action-adventure scripts at $117,394,118. Fade In Magazine selected Salerno as one of the "100 people you need to know in Hollywood" in the 2001 issue and Detour Magazine voted him one of "Hollywood's true shapers of pop culture" in their annual "hot thirty under thirty" edition. Shane's diverse writing is distinguished by the quality of directors who have chosen him to write or rewrite their films including Oscar winners Steven Spielberg (Thunder Below), Ron Howard (Bay of Pigs) William Friedkin (Night Train) Oscar nominees Michael Mann (The Border) and John Singleton (Shaft) and blockbuster directors Michael Bay (Armageddon) Wolfgang Peterson (L.A. Fed) Jonathan Mostow (Breakdown) and most recently Jan De Bont (MEG). Salerno has written or re-written star vehicles for Oscar winners Michael Douglas and Nicolas Cage as well as Bruce Willis, George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, James Woods, Christian Bale, Jeffrey Wright, Liv Tyler, Ving Rhames, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Billy Bob Thorton, Vera Farmiga, Treat Williams and Kurt Russell among many others. While a senior in high school, Shane wrote, produced and directed the award winning documentary short film "Sundown: The Future of Children and Drugs". The film debuted on "Larry King Live" in September 1991. Larry King ended the interview by saying "And Shane Salerno, one has a feeling we are going to be hearing about you. I have this feeling." "Sundown" won several "best documentary of the year" honors and was showcased on every major talk show. Additionally Shane was honored, in separate ceremonies, in both houses of Congress. The critical acclaim "Sundown" received led nine-time Emmy winner Gregory Hoblit to invite a then nineteen year old Shane to apprentice on the first season of "NYPD Blue" as a writer-director. Shane has credited the backstage pass to the brilliant, gritty series during a year when they were honored with a record 26 Emmy nominations and David Caruso's storied exit as a truly unique front line film school. By the age of 22 he was consistently writing the highest rated episodes of the hit FOX TV series "New York Undercover". Shane's gritty, street wise episodes attracted the attention of film producers. At the end of the first season, Shane asked to be let out of his contract in order to pursue feature opportunities that he was being offered. In a three month period he sold "A Season in Hell" in a high profile, page one spec sale, script doctored the gritty screenplay to the critically acclaimed Paramount Kurt Russell film "Breakdown" and adapted the World War II submarine thriller "Thunder Below" for Steven Spielberg and the newly formed Dreamworks Pictures. At just 24, director Michael Bay recruited Shane to rewrite the Jerry Bruckheimer produced "Armageddon" based on an original screenplay by Jonathan Hensleigh. In "Visions of Armageddon", the book on the making of the film, Michael Bay calls Shane's work on the script "brilliant". The blockbuster film debuted at #1 on July 1, 1998 and was the highest grossing film of the year, earning over $570 million worldwide. In 1998, at the age of 25, Variety selected Shane as one of the "hottest new creatives on the film scene." Based on "Thunder Below" and "Armageddon" John Singleton, the youngest director ever nominated for an Oscar, telephoned Shane and asked him to serve as his writing partner on "Shaft" which Paramount Pictures was mounting. The Singleton-Salerno collaboration (aided by novelist Richard Price) resulted in Shane's second #1 film when "Shaft" debuted at the top of the box office on June 16, 2000. That year, Shane (now 27) returned to television by co-creating (with acclaimed novelist Don Winslow), executive producing and serving as showrunner, head writer, and music supervisor for the NBC television series "UC: Undercover" starring Vera Farmiga (Martin Scorsese's "The Departed"), Oded Fehr (Showtime's "Sleeper Cell") and Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames. The series won and was nominated for awards in acting, cinematography and sound. Salerno lured former career criminal turned bestselling novelist and actor Ed Bunker (Reservoir Dogs' Mr. Blue) as a technical advisor, Peabody winning journalist Jerry Nachman and acclaimed playwright Stephen Adly Guirgus ("Jesus Hopped the A Train") as writers on his writing staff. Possessing a rabid devotion to film music, Shane served as music supervisor on "UC: Undercover" where he recruited Grammy wining film composer David Arnold, known for his brilliant scores for "Independence Day," and the James Bond films, to score the series main title theme. Seeking a new sound for the weekly score, Shane convinced the Dust Brothers (David Fincher's "Fight Club") to compose their first television series. The series, though widely predicted to be the breakout hit of the season, was up against ABC's multi Emmy winning powerhouse "The Practice", and was cancelled in 2002. At 30, Shane rewrote "Alien vs. Predator" heavily throughout pre-production and production in Prague and over the strong protest of Twentieth Century Fox and the producers, Shane did not receive screen credit. The film debuted at #1 on August 13, 2004 with a $38.3 opening weekend and went on to become Fox's most profitable film of 2004. A sequel is being readied. In 2004 Shane became the youngest "Guest of Honor" speaker in the history of the Los Angeles Screenwriting Expo attended by over 5,000 people. The response was so strong to Shane's 2004 appearance that he was asked back in 2005. His second appearance was a sold out, standing room only affair. Other guest of honor that year included such distinguished names as two-time Oscar winner William Goldman, Aaron Sorkin, David Koepp and David Milch. In January, 2006 Shane formed The Story Factory to develop and produce television series and films. Shane's work continues to make him a much sought-after writer whose unique writing draws in actors, directors and studios that are eager to work with him. Shane's upcoming films include "Ghost Rider" at Marvel/Sony (February, 2007) which stars Nicolas Cage; "MEG" based on the international bestseller by Steve Alten directed by Jan De Bont for New Line (Summer, 2007). He also has the Michael Douglas spy thriller "The Mechanic" being readied and "Reckless" a sexual thriller Salerno recently sold to Twentieth Century Fox in a summer 2005 bidding war with three other studios.
